The Irish name Karrity was originally written in a Gaelic form as Mag Oireachtaigh, which is derived from the word "oireachtach," referring to a member of an assembly. Translating the name into English produces no less than seventeen different synonyms. But the origin of the name is most intriguing. In the 12th century, the name was simply O Roduibh but a Oireachtach O Roduibh at that time caused the name to be shortened to Oireachtach, their present form.

Karrity Early Origins

The surname Karrity was first found in counties Roscommon and Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they were one of the Hi Maine Septs in Kelly's country. They were direct descendants of the O'Connors, Kings of Connacht, and the Chief of the Clann was one of the four royal chiefs under the O'Connor. The tree on the Coat of Arms illustrates their descendancy from the O'Connors.

Karrity Spelling Variations

Karrity Spelling Variations

Early Anglo-Norman names in Ireland were often inconsistently spelt: Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Karrity revealed many spelling variations including Gerrity, Gerty, Gerighty, Gerighaty, Gerety, Gerahty, Garraty, Geraty, Jerety, McGerity, MacGeraghty, MacGartie, MacGarty and many more.

Karrity Early History

Karrity Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Karrity research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1585, 1744 and 1598 are included under the topic Early Karrity History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Karrity Early Notables (pre 1700)

Karrity Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Karrity Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

In the late 18th and the 19th century, Irish immigrants left their homeland for new lands. Leaving from such ports as Belfast, Dublin, and Cork, some went as far as Australia and many more traveled across the Atlantic to British North America or the United States. The early settlers left not out of necessity but rather to fulfill their dream of owning a tract of land to work solely for themselves. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in the late 1840s, immigration away from the island skyrocketed. Hunger and disease were rapidly taking the lives of many Irish people, and to escape these conditions hundreds of thousands left Ireland en masse. The established population in North America generally did not give these destitute Irish a very warm welcome, but this mass of people were highly prized, if not highly paid, by the people behind the major industrial and construction projects of the times. These Irish provided the cheap labor required by the factories, the mines, and the many construction projects of the time. The Irish immigrants that arrived in the United States and Canada provided these now rich and powerful nations with inestimable contributions, both physical and cultural. Research into early immigration and passenger lists revealed many immigrants bearing the name Karrity: Robert Gerity who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1858; Patrick Gerrity, also Peter and Phillip, all arrived in the 1860's; Sally McGarty arrived in New York State in 1847.

Citations

Citations

Other References

McDonnell, Frances. Emigrants from Ireland to America 1735-1743 A Transcription of the report of the Irish House of Commons into Enforced emigration to America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1331-5).

The Karrity Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Karrity Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.